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On October 27, 2025, amendments to Delaware’s Medical Debt Protection Act took effect, establishing a total ban on the inclusion of medical debt in consumer credit reports. The amendments, enacted through Senate Substitute 1 for Senate Bill 156, revise Delaware’s consumer protection laws to prohibit both the furnishing and use of medical-debt information by consumer reporting agencies.
Specifically, the updated law:
- Prohibits reporting of medical debt. No person may report any medical debt to a consumer reporting agency, eliminating prior provisions that permitted such reporting after one year or following a payment plan.
- Bars inclusion in credit reports. Consumer reporting agencies are prohibited from making or furnishing any consumer report that contains medical-debt information they know or should know relates to a consumer’s medical debt.
- Clarifies scope of medical debt. The term covers obligations owed to businesses primarily engaged in providing health-care services, including current or paid bills, but excludes debt charged to general-purpose credit cards unless the card is specifically issued for health-care expenses.
Putting It Into Practice: Medical debt has been a focal point for state policymakers this year, with several jurisdictions advancing legislation to limit or eliminate its impact on consumer credit reporting (previously discussed here, here, and here). However, with the CFPB recently issuing an interpretive rule asserting that federal law preempts state medical-debt reporting restrictions (previously discussed here), the implementation of these state laws banning medical debt credit reporting may hinge on eventual future litigation. Where these laws stay on the books remains to be seen.
